Good day today. First 22 miles were against a good wind and rain. Just ignore that.
Stopped at a bike shop in Gainesville to have a couple things checked out on Gerty. #1 was to make sure rear tire wasn’t going to fly off. Been a bit nervous about that since I fixed flat.
Gerty’s had a bit of a wobble since the flat. Rear brake has not worked well since crash…even though that was a major part of repair.
You get good service after 4000 miles at most bike shops. I told them the issues I was having and went to get something to eat.
Came back in an hour and I was good to go. Wobble was because bead on rear tire had a bit that wasn’t set. Oops!! They told me a couple other things they did to the brakes but it was way over my head. $25 sounded good to me.
One of the things they told me was that my rear brake was basically “on” the whole time. No wonder I thought my legs were weak. Noticed the easier pedaling within 100 yds. Spent 90% of rest of day in high gear. I was really wondering how I could regress that far in a week.
If someone was going to hike all the National Scenic Trails in the US, they’d have to do the FL Trail…and a bunch more.
That someone (probably) won’t be me. Pretty swampy, gatory, and snakey.
When I got to Palatka today I was met by a couple buddies from our community. Jay Reidenbach and Mike O’Sullivan had driven 50+ miles down to see me. Mike had told me yesterday that he had a room for me and wanted to buy me some Buds and dinner. Figured he was going to be in Palatka for work or something.
Truth is they just drove down (and back) to have a few beers and dinner with me. I had a great time. Thanks so much, Mike and Jay. Felt like I was sitting at the 19th Hole…almost.
You folks are so impressively supportive, it boggles my mind. We’ll raise more than $30K for the charities I’m riding for. That’s about $135K over my 3 adventures. Amazing. Thanks so much to each and every one of you.
The buying me dinner and beers thing has kind of taken on a life of it’s own. There’s a waiting list now. I don’t even know what to say about that besides thanks. So incredibly nice.
I’m thinking that once we get to Key West, I’ll open the Buy Just Pete a Bud program to actually buy me a Bud. We’ll be there for a couple days, so that may be a lot. Any excess contributions will go to the charities. Stay tuned!!
I’ll be pedaling down the coast tomorrow afternoon and meeting Kris. Can’t wait.
Ride on.
Just Pete
Just Pete Hiking 
So glad you will be meeting Kris. That should be a great boost. Glad you also were able to get Gerty looked at so now you will feel more secure that the back wheel won’t fly off. Enjoy the remainder of you trip. Hoping you will still be coming to NJ in September. The pledges for your charities amount is amazing!! Stay safe!
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Sounds like you had a good day yesterday in more ways than one. Getting your rear brake fixed had to have been such a relief to know you hadn’t regressed that week off. How nice of your friends, Jay and Mike, drive down to meet you and have dinner. The AT has been overrun this summer and a 5 yr. old did the whole trail in 209 days. That just came on the news. Have a good ride today and then you be coasting on down to Key West with a sherpa!! Stay safe, remember the covid safety measures, and enjoy your ride. Love you, Mom.
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Good training method–have the brake on for more resistance!
Might want to get thru Daytona Beach by Friday–they have big NASCAR races this weekend & there might be lots of traffic then…
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How awesome of Mike and Jay, you will be back at the actual 19th hole in no time! You are so close to done, plus with mom there to allow you to slack pack…you’ll pretty much be flying! Suck it up, keep pedaling and you’ll be in Key West in no time! Love you!
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just beautiful. proud of all three of you! plus Gertie!!
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The light is at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train. Hey Jay and Mike nice move. In the spirit that is a bike event I am wondering why you didn’t ride down and back. don
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OMGoodness! Now that the rear brake is no longer engaged, watch you fly!!! 😬 So happy your friends could have a bud and dinner with you! Happy you’ll meet up with Kris!! Enjoy the heck outa the last miles of your adventure! You’ve got this! 👏 Ride on, be safe and God’s Speed!!
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Of course you had a good experience in Gainesville! Smart people taking care of an incredibly inspirational human being! 🐊👊💪
Ride safe to the end zone!
You won’t back down!
🙏
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A great day in so many ways, with more to come! I’m glad you had Gerty checked out and got such a wonderful update. Now you can SAIL on 😉. It’ll be great to have Kris and you spend this last “leg” of your inspirational journey together.
We all knew you had this one nailed!!!
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Well every time I see you, you always have me laughing and reading your blog has delivered! What a funny story you’ll be telling for years about the rear brake. You’ll always have cold Buds at my house!
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One of the places you’re donating to is Sun Dial Manor, right? Is there a site to log into for contributing or do I simply call SDM?
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I can “hear” in your words that your spirit is fully back and you’re in high gear for the remainder of your trip! Great job for the charities Pete, that’s just amazing! Can’t wait to see what your next journey will be…
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